You're Sonargaon-na enjoy this!
The OCC chose Sonargaon Tandoori of Whittlesey for their Xmas and end of year meet. Known for its Bangladeshi cuisine and named after the town Sonargaon in the Ganges Delta the venue had gained strong reviews in 2017. More recently they had received the CHOTY from the ET readers and scored 9/10 in a separate review carried out by the local paper. Yet despite this the ET is not an international curry club so the OCC visit would be a much sterner test as the scores below demonstrate.
Sonargoan scores
Quality: 7.5 Service: 7.7 Value: 6.1 Customer Care: 7.8 Atmosphere: 7.9
Total: 7.4
The quality of the food was highly praised in previous reviews of the restaurant. The menu itself had a lot on offer which at times indicates that a venue lacks real specialities. However with a score of 7.5 which tends to be an indicator of strong quality the OCC believed that Sonargaon managed to produce quality with the variety of dishes they cater for. Though the starters were good without being extra special the mains delivered on the taste front. With a group of 15 a varied range of dishes were ordered from your standard fare of Balti, Madras and Jalfrezi to other members trying out specialities such as the Acharia, Dalashori, Mukhni or Sonargoans special Chicken. The opinion of the group was that whilst all dishes were very flavoursome with meat succulently cooked they lacked the necessary spice levels. Others were completely satisfied taste wise but felt that there was not enough meat in their dishes to score it higher.
The service was to a high standard when considering the amount of members within our group and the fact that the restaurant seemed pretty close to capacity added to the challenge in this area. Both food and drinks were served promptly and any small errors were fixed immediately. Linking into this the care was excellent in parts during the evening. The manager came over regularly to check that the OCC were happy and dishes were adapted to people’s individual tastes and requirements. This care was extended at the end of the evening with complimentary drinks and photos with the OCC. The only criticism in this area were the seating arrangements as members were extremely squashed with little room to manoeuvre at the table.
Value was the area that the OCC felt Sonargaon lacked a little against its competitors. Whilst it was a nice experience, £43 per head felt a little steep. However it should always be remembered that the OCC always try to celebrate the occasions of their meets so this price did include a number of drinks.
Finally the atmosphere was what you would expect from any decent venue on a Friday evening. For most of the time it was nicely busy with a pleasant vibe, aided further by the personality of the waiters.
Overall though Sonargaon failed to do the double and supersede the OCC current CHOTY holders it is a strong establishment within the local area. The OCC would therefore highly recommend it to both larger groups and those seeking a quiet meal.